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EKU OTD Grad and Businesswoman Praises Faculty, Peers and Program

Gerry Healy Marini, MS, OTR/L has a BS in occupational therapy from Temple University and an MS in healthcare administration and management from Wilmington University. She has been an occupational therapist for more than 25 years. She is the owner and director of Professional Therapy Services, a business that provides contract therapy services to schools, early intervention programs, private facilities, and private practices in the New Jersey/ Philadelphia area. She is also adjunct faculty at Salem Community College. Dr. Marini completed the EKU Online OTD program in fall 2016.

Why did you want to get your OTD?

It was more of a personal accomplishment for me. I wanted to be able to contribute to my profession and to my community – especially in pediatrics. I had friends who said to me, “You already have a business. Why do you want to do this?” I just believe that unless you go through it, it’s hard to understand what you don’t know. What I’ve learned has done worlds of good. It changed my practice almost immediately and taught me so much!

Why did you choose the EKU Online OTD program?

I did look around for about a year before I applied to EKU. I wanted a degree that would give me the full scope. Affordability was a factor, and I liked that it was fully online. When you are working full time, raising a family and running a business that helps.

Now I put the EKU Online web address on my portfolio and in other places so I can tell more people about it.

What did you like best about your EKU experience?

The best part of my online learning experience was being able to collaborate with my peers. They were going through the same thing. I got to know several people who were ahead of me so I watched their capstone project presentations and got advice from them.

I was surprised that even though we were just emailing back and forth, we were constantly checking in with each other. I had taken other online courses from other places before, but the opportunities that the EKU program had for the students to collaborate made this experience well worth it.

What about the instructors?

The instructors were wonderful! They started the learning experience by helping us determine what our passion was. They let us determine what it was we spent our time on. For me, it was pediatrics.

They were available. They were professional. They were always willing to share their expertise with us. They are very dedicated to the students, and the program felt individualized. I appreciate the faculty so much.

Why was EKU the right choice for you?

Life brings challenges and feeling supported makes your learning experiences so much richer. I have the confidence to do things I’ve never done before. It met and exceeded all my expectations.